1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shock absorbing helmet liner which simultaneously keeps the wearer's head and neck and spine cool or warm, and more specifically, this invention relates to a device for regulating body temperature, for example by cooling the brain, reducing swelling on the brain, reducing the effects of hyperthermia, fever, while simultaneously preventing concussion injuries.
2. Background of the Invention
A majority of concussions sustained by persons involved in contact sports are the result not only of hard blows, but also from poor designs of the helmets and helmet liners.
The inventor's contention is that a leading contributor to concussions is heat. The brain, when subjected to sustained temperatures above 98.6 F, starts to swell. This is why the majority of the percentage of heat leaving the body in hyperthermia situations exits through the head, given its large vascularization.
There is only enough room between the brain and the cranium for an additional 10 cubic centimeters of fluid. That fluid space is easily taken up in high heat situations (such as what may occur during sustained physical exertion), either due to brain swelling, or brain bleeding, which is also the result of high heat scenarios.
In such scenarios, the brain not only contacts the cranium, but presses up against it. This makes the player incredibly prone to concussion inasmuch as the 10 cc of cushioning space mentioned supra is gone.
A need exists in the art for a device to cool the brain and upper spine while simultaneously protecting the brain from blows to the head. These two functions should be integrally molded into one feature of the device. The device should be worn alone, or else adapted to be worn with standard helmets or headgear so as to be removably received by the headgear. An embodiment of the device is integrally molded with a helmet such that the device may be worn as a stand-alone protective device. Finally, an embodiment of the device is used by itself without a helmet.